Kids, Do This at Home国際高等学校

３年

錦織

由果Hi, I’m Yuka. I am an overseas returnee. I use to live in Jakarta, Hawaii,and Saipan, and I came back to Japan during 7th grade.
When I was living in Jakarta, I spoke Indonesian fairly well. However, due
to lack of practice I can no longer understand the language, and I hate myself
for forgetting it all. The fact that my parents are actually fairly fluent and goout of their way to use it in front of me does not help either.
When I was living in Hawaii and Saipan, I spoke English because Iattended local schools and spent a lot of time watching American TV shows.

When I returned to Japan in 7th grade, I was confident that I would neverlose my English ability. After all, my English is far better than my Japanese, Ialways being told my English was good or flawless. So I only thought myparents were going through a sort of nagging-phase when they told me that Iwould have to practice my English as to not lose it.
Only when I entered 9th grade I realized little by little that they wereright, as always. Some words were becoming difficult for me to pronounce
properly, and I would sometimes make grammatical mistakes, such as using “has”
instead of “have”, proving that my English was no longer “flawless”. The
most horrific of all was when I would sometimes forget words completely. For
example, just last month I could not remember the term “plural”.
I decided I must take action to keep and rebuild my English ability. I am
going share some methods that worked very well for me.
First and the most obvious of all is reading. By reading books, younaturally build up on your vocabulary because when they are used in ordinary
sentences, they are not the same as the boring mass of letters from yourhomework. For example, I learned the term “statute of limitations” not from atextbook on criminal law but from a book about money, love, and revenge bySydney Sheldon.

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高校生―Ｉ部門

And as you can see, I can still speak it today.

I also make myself read at least three books of the same author if I likethe first one I read. In my case, my collection includes three books by Diana
Wynne Jones, seven by Stephen King, and nine by Sydney Sheldon. This isbecause many prolific authors have a certain writing style. As a result, theirworks often share the same vocabulary. The repetition helps in rememberingcertain terms and their correct usage.
Another and very fun way is to watch a lot of English-language movies.
Not only do they teach new words, but they also provide a chance to brushup on listening skills and correct pronunciation. This might sound strange,
but I often memorize witty lines and repeat them to improve my articulation.
Such as this line: “Makeovers? You mean where stuck-up girls make snooty
faces at us while they pluck our eyebrows until we scream and they tell us ‘Well
you’d be pretty if you took care of your skin?’ Pass.” So in a sense, it is
高校生―Ｉ部門

killing not two but three birds with a stone. It is also very entertaining toread reviews for really good or really bad films, as their writers usually pumpout all sorts of colorful language to get their point through.
The important part about both the methods is that you must enjoy it. If
you have to force yourself to read dull books or watch boring movies just topractice English, you will just end up being frustrated and stressed.
Thinking back, I regret not taking these simple and fun actions earlier toimprove my English. I was blinded and let myself be deluded by mygroundless overconfidence and took my English ability for granted. One might
think one has a special skill or ability in a certain field, and knowing so isimportant. But to know how to use that ability effectively at all times isimportant too. If my description of myself fits yours, don’t panic. Just findways to improve that ability and yourself too.

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